Winding head



K. C. BUGG WINDING HEAD Filed July 5, 1954 Sept. 1, 1936.

5 Sheets-Sheet l Sept. 1, 1936. c G 2,053,215

WINDING HEAD Filed July 5, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 GM WA/ Patented Sept. 1, 1936 WINDING HEAD Reply 0. Bri g, Farmington, Mo.,-.assignor tolloosier Lamp &

Stamping Corporation,

. Evansville, Ind, a' corporation of Indiana Application .iuly 5, 1934, Serial No. 733,744

12 Claims.

This application is concerned with a device and process for forming coils 'of wire without spools, and relates to subject-matter constituting a development of the invention set forth and 5 described in my United States Letters Patent No. 1,994,684, granted March 19, 1935. According to that prior patent, the coiled wire is formed either without any supporting member such as a spool or upon a plain core without end-flanges, the turns of the coil, and especially the end turns, being held in'place by loops of tape or other flexible material which embrace the end turns of the coil and are clamped within the coil between successive layers or turns of wire.

According to the present invention, the wire coil is formed upon a cylindrical core clamped between two co-axial rotating heads each of which carries a series of bobbins containing the binding tape.' At the beginning of the winding operation, the tapes carried by each head extend from their respective bobbins through guides arranged in an annular series and thence in:- wardly across the face of the head, the inner end of each tape being anchored near the ade jacent end of the core. The coil is wound in the usual manner, the wire being traverse-d back and forth between the two heads. as the heads and core are rotated. At intervals, the tapestretches extending generally radially across the inner face of one head are picked up at inter-. mediate points and drawn axially inwardly. of the coil to form bights extending generally axially along the outer face of the coil. The inner end of each bight so formed is drawn beneath the stock wire which is being fed on to the coils and axially beyond such stock wire, to that it becomes clamped to the coil by sue.- cessive turns ofthe wire. After the bight has been 'thus clamped, thetapeis severed at the inner end of the bight, and thewinding of the coil proceeds. I

The .accompanying drawings illustrate mechanism the structural details and functioning of which embody the invention of this application:- Fig. 1 is a plan View of the winding device and a partlywound wire-coil with parts of the device broken away to show the construction more clearly; Fig. 2 is an end elevation of. the device with one-of. the'heads removed; Fig. 3 is a horizontal axial section through the needles which are used to form each bight of tape and draw its inner end inwardly of the wire coil; Figgl is a perspective view of the device with the outer head removed, showing a coil-in the process'of formation; Fig. 5 is a vertical axial section through the device showing a coil partly wound; and Fig. 6 is a view generally similar to Fig. 5 but somewhat idealized to show the tape and wire on an enlarged scale.

In the drawings, I have not illustrated. de tails of the coil-winding machine itself, 'as'such machines are well known and may take a number of different forms. In general, a machine of this type comprises a rotating shaft, adapted to support the spool or other element upon which the wire is to be wound, and traversing mechanism by means of which the wire feeding on to the spool is traversed between the ends thereof.

In the drawings, I have indicated the rotating coil-supporting shaft of the winding machine at ii f Mounted on this shaft for-rotation therewith I provide two heads II and [2, the outer head 12 being axially removable to permit the withdrawal of a coil from between the two heads and being normally held in place as by means of a nut E3 on the threaded end of the shaft I0. Each of the heads H and I2 is in the form of a hollow ,dru'm having a plane innerface and a cylindrical annular fiang'e'lfi which extends outwardly'from such inner face. Within each head there are rotatably mounted a plurality of bobbins lE carrying the tape which is to be used in winding the wire-coils. The number of these bobbins will vary to suit the circumstances, the device shown in Figs. 1 and 2 embodying six bobbins in each head while that shown in Fig. 4 embodies twelve. The flange E5 on each drum is provided with an opening I! for each bobbin, such openings serving to permit the tapes from the bobbins'to be brought out of the drum. From each opening H, the tape l8 extends axially inwardly, conveniently passing beneath a springrnetal brake I9 and thence through a guide 20, the guides on each drum preferably being arranged at equal intervals to form an annular series.

On the inner face of each drum there is pro vided an inwardly extending axial boss 22 of a diameter to receive and support a hollow'cylindrical core '23 upon which the wire-coil is to be formed. This core is clamped axially between the two heads H and I2, and the two heads and core therefore rotate as a unit when the shaft I0 is rotating.

At the beginning of each coil-winding opera? tion, the ends of the tapes I8 carried by each drum, after being drawn beneath the respective brakes l9 and through the respective guides 20,

s smear owner: 4

are passed radially across the face of the drum and secured near the adjacent end of the core 23. Conveniently, but not necessarily, the inner end of each tape I8 is anchored by clamping it between the boss 22 and core 23, as indicated in Fig. 6.

The tape-feeding mechanism, which is disposed between the two heads II and I2 and surrounding the core 23 and the coil wound thereon, operates to pick up each stretch of tape extending across the face of the drums to form a bight the inner end of which is drawn axially inwardly, clamped by the stock wire feeding on to the coil, and severed. This feeding mechanism is supported from an arm which is pivotally mounts ed on a horizontal axis parallel to the axis .of the shaft ID. Conveniently, the arm 30 is provided with a hub 3| which receives a stationary shaft 32 supported from the frame of the machine. Attached to the arm 30 is a cross-piece 33 having a length slightly less than the distance between .the two heads H and I2, and the outer ends of the cross-piece have secured to them two upwardly extending braces 3.4 which support at their upper ends a bridge .35 adapted to guide the stock wire 36 as it feeds on to the coil.

Attached to opposite sides of the arm 30 at the inner end thereof are two arm-extensions 38 which are of a generally semi-circular shape and extend upwardly on the ba k side of the shaft It! to a. point above such shaft. A roller 39, mounted at the upper end of the extensions 38, r s upon the coil bein ormed a d Serves to maintain the upper ends o t e ex nsi 38 and the bridge in approximately constant relation to the top of the coil as the coil increases in diameter.

Also attached to th a m 30 near the inner end thereof are the superposed lower ends of two needle-su ports d .2- Those needle supports ar of h lica conf rma i n nd o pposits ha d and ex nd en al y up y on the front side of the shaft I0 to a point beneath the r d e .35..

The two needle supports 4| and 42 have dif-- ferent radii of curvature, the radius of the support 42 being shown as less than that of the support 4|. This provides between the needle supports a space 43 (Fig. 2) the purpose of which will hereinafter become evident.

To the upper end of the needle support 4| there is secured a helical needle 45 which is of the same hand as the support 4| and conveniently has substantially the same radius of curvature. The e d e 45 is s a d x lly from th sup o 4| toward the drum II to provide a slot 46, From its point of attachment to the support Al, the netdle 45 extends downwardly around the coil generally parallel to the support 4| and beyond the point of attachment of the support 4| to the arm 3|], the needle continues to extend helically and terminates in a flat or plane portion 45 dis.- posed adjacent the face of the drum l2 and sloping forwardly and upwardly in rear of and above the shaft H3.

A similar needle 48 is secured to the upper end of the support 42 and extends generally parallel to such support and spaced therefrom toward the I? to provide a sl t 49 Lik t ne d e 45, the needle 48 continues to extend helically up the rear side of the coil and terminates in a plane p t n 8 d spos d, adjacent the face of the drum I l and ner l y pa al el t the la portion 45' of the needle 45,

Pivotally mounted on a n rall rad al ax n each of the plane portions 45' and 48 is a pick up member 5|. Each of these pick-up members extends from its axis of pivotal mounting in a direction opposite to that in which the shaft I0 and heads H and I2 rotate and terminates in a point disposed close to the inner face of the adjacent head, as is clear from Fig. 1. Springs 52, or other suitable means, act on the pick-up members 5| and serve to hold the free ends thereof normally out of contact with the faces of the respectively adjacent heads.

To prevent the pointed end of either pick-up member 5| when it is in retracted position, from accidentally engaging any of the tapes |8 extending across the adjacent drum-face, the upper en s of the extensions 38 carry guide members which extend outwardly toward their respective drums and terminate closely adjacent the faces thereof. Each of these guides is provided with a notch 56 for the reception of the extreme end of the pick-up member 5|. In the retracted position of each pick-up member, the extreme end thereof lies in the notch 56 at a greater distance from the face of the adjacent drum than is the tape-guiding face of the guide .55, the guide thus serving to carry the tape l8 past the end of the pick-up member.

For actuating the pick-up members 5| to force them outwardly into contact with the inner faces of the heads H and I2, various means may be employed. In the drawings, such means is shown as taking the form of small flexible tubes 60 which are adapted for connection, through suitable control means, to a source of air under pressure. The tubes 60 may be secured to the extensions 38, their upper ends being disposed respectively adjacent the inner faces of the heads of the pick-up members 5|, so that air expelled from. either tube 60 will force the associated pickup member into contact with the face of its adioo nt h ad- Wh n a coil is to be wound, a core 23 is inserted and clamped between the two heads II and 2, the free ends of the tapes 3 being brought radially across the faces of the heads and secured adjacent the core, as above set forth. The winding of the coil is then started at one end of the core 23, Fig. 6 indicatin the winding as starting at the left-hand end of the core or adjacent the head I I, After the winding has progressed for a. requisite number of turns, the tube 60 associated with the pick-up member 5| on the needle 48 is connected to the source of air under pressure with the result that that pick-up member 5| on the end of the needle 48 is swung about its axis of pivotal mounting to bring its pointed end into contact with the face of the drum As the drum continues to rotate, the tapes it? a e ucces v ly ick u a d. a d o the end of the n ed .8 as indicated in Fi 1. Each bight of tape thus formed is drawn. axially inwa ly of the coi by he d e 48. tap f r ming the lengthening bights being supplied from the bobbins I6, As each bight passes below and beyond the shaft I0, its outer stretch is engaged by the support 34 and forced inwardly to pass beneath the bridge 35, As it emerges from beneath the bridge 35, each bight is engaged by the stock wire 36, which is feeding on to the top of the coil, and thus clamped in place.

As the heads rotate during the formation of a. bight, the inner end of the bight is carried circumferentially through the slot 49 between the needle 48 and its associated support 42. The par are s a an d ha the bi ht. r at ast the outer stretchthereof, is engaged by the feeding stock wire 36 before the inner end of .the bight reaches the end of the 'slot 49, :at which point there is located a knife 65 which-serves to sever the tape. I

The. pick-up member 5| is held in contact with theface of the drum H for one revolution thereof,-so' that all'the tapes on the-drum l l are drawn inwardly in bight-form and severed. When,- at the" conclusioniof this revolution of the head- I l, air flow through the tubefill is shutoff, the sprirg 52 retracts the pick-up member andwinding of the coil proceeds with thetapes again extending generally radially across the face of the'head II. The operation of the pick-up members 5] may be manually controlledthrough'the medium 'of a manually operated valve regulating the supply of air to the tubes fill; or such members maybe automatically-- actuated, as by the provision of a valve controlled by the traversing mechanism. In either event, the pick-up members-should not be held in contact with the drum facesrespectively associated with them for more than a full revolution of the'drums, as otherwise-a duplication of' tape-bights would be produced.

' As pointed out in my prior application above referred to, the tape or other binding material may take. various forms. In general, any relatively thin flexible material sufficiently strong will be satisfactory; but I have found to bemost suitable the so-called printed string which is commonly used in the tying of packages. I I

The tape-engaging surfaces of the needles 45 and 48 and of the supports 34 should preferably be smooth and highly polished in order to decrease the frictional drag on the tapes passing over them. This frictional drag causes the inner end of each tape-bight to lag behind the outer end, thus giving each bight a. helical inclination. By decreasing friction between the tape-bights and the surfaces which engage them, this helical inclination may be prevented from becoming excessive; but I do not regard a reasonable degree of helical inclination as objectionable and it may even have an advantage in the action of the tapes in preventing snarling of the wire when it is withdrawn from the coil by an axial take-off as contemplated in both this and my prior application.

It is to be noted that the two needles 45 and 48 cross each other and that the tape-bights at each end of the coil therefore overlap. It is to permit the tapes on the needle and those on the needle 48 to pass the needle 45 that the needles are made of different radii of curvature to provide the space 43; as the outer stretch of each bight extends through such space as the bight reaches the end of the needle which forms it. Obviously, the overlapping of the tapebights ties the two ends of the coil together and prevents any axial separation.

In a coil produced as above described the end turns are held in place by loops of tape which embrace them. The number of layers of wire embraced by each tape-loop will vary to suit circumstances. In general, the heavier the wire the fewer layers will be embraced by each tape-loop.

Similarly, the number of tapes used is susceptible of considerable variation. To prevent too great an axial extent of an end turn of wire from being unsupported, larger-diameter coils of wire will require tape at more frequent angular intervals than will smaller-diameter coils.

To secure the binding by tape-loops of the extreme end turns of the inner layer of wire without the necessity for securing the extreme inner 45 to pass the needle 48- ends of-the tapes to the-'core by some special means,'th'e winding may be startednear the-centerof the core and progressed with'toward one end of the core. Before the winding reaches that end of the core, however, a series of tape-bights is drawn inwardly from that head toward'which the winding is progressing and bound down against the core by later-deposited turnsof wire. The inner stretches of such bights; embracing no wire-turns, are of no value inholding the coil together} but the outer stretches, which are securely-bound, form the inner legs of loops which will embrace the end turn of the inner wire-layer as well as the end turns of as many additional layers as may be desired. As the winding nears the opposite end of the core, but before it reaches such-opposite end, the tapes on the other head are drawn inwardly and bound against the corein the samemanner. I I I I In the arrangement illustrated in the drawings, it iscontemplated that the core '23 will remain within the coil; but this, as pointed out' in my prior patent, is not necessary. It is preferred, however, in the case of wire of relatively small diameter. I

Upon the completion of the winding of the coil, it is removed from between the 'two heads. Any loose ends of tape which do not embrace turns of the coil may be removed or cut oil, and the last turns of wire may in "any convenient way, as patent. I

I-clai'rn as my invention:- II I I I -.1. Inia coil-winding device, a pair of co-axial rotatable heads having opposed faces between which is supported the coil being wound, means on each head carrying a plurality of tapes each of which extends generally radially across the face of its associated head, and means located between said heads, and operable to engage successively the tapes extending across the face of one of said heads, form bights in such tapes, draw such bights axially inwardly over the outer surface of a coil between said heads, and then sever the tapes at the inner ends of the bights.

2. In a coil-Winding device, a pair of co-axial rotatable heads having opposed faces between which is supported the coil being wound, means on each head carrying a plurality of tapes each of which extends generally radially across the face of its associated head, means located between said heads and operable to engage successively the tapes extending across the face of one of said heads, form bights in such tapes, and to draw such bights axially inwardly over the outer surface of a coil between said heads, mechanism for feeding wire on to such coil to bind the bights thereto, and means for severing the tape at. the inner end of. each bight after such bight has been so bound to the coil.

3. In a coil-winding device, a rotatable head having a face against which is disposed one end of a coil being wound, means on said head carrying a plurality of tapes each of which extends generally radially across the face of said head, and means operable to engage successively the tapes extending across the face of said head, form bights in such tapes, draw such bights axially inwardly over the outer surface of a coil between said heads, and then sever the tapes at the inner ends of the bights.

4. In a coil-winding device, a rotatable head having a face against which is disposed one end of a coil being wound, means on said head carrying a plurality of tapes each of which extends gendisclosed in my prior be secured to the coil erally radially across the face of said head, means operable to engage successively the tapes extending across the face of said head, form bights in such tapes, and to draw suchbights axially inwardly over the outer surface of a coil between said heads, mechanism for feeding wire on to such coil to bind the bights thereto, and means for severing the tape at the inner end of each bight after such bight has been so bound to the coil,

5. In a coil-winding device, -a rotatable head having a face against which is disposed one end of a coil being Wound, means on said head carrying a. plurality of tapes eachof which extends generally radially across the face of said head, a helical member extending axially inwardly of the coil from a point adjacent the face of said head, and 'means operable to pick up the tapes extending across the face of the head and to guide them over the adjacent end of said member.

6. The invention set forth in claim 5 with the addition of means located near that end of said member which is remote from said head for severing the tape, said means comprisinga knife on to the cutting edge of which the end of the tapebight is guided by said member.

7. The invention setforth in claim 5 with the addition of means located near that end of said member which is remote from said head for severing the tape.

8. The method of forming a coil of wire having a plurality of layers each embodying a multiplicity of turns, which comprises winding the wire over the'ends of a plurality of tapes which extend outwardly beyond the coil, forming ablght in the outwardly extending portion of each tape. drawing each of said bights axially inwardly of the coil, and then binding said bights in place by winding wire over them.

9. The method set forth in claim 8 with the addition of severing each tape near the inner end of the bight after such bight has been bound in place. a

10. In a coll-winding device, a pair of co-axial rotatable heads having opposedfacesbetween which is supported the coil being wound, means on each head carrying a plurality of tapes each of which extends generally radially across the face of its associated head, and means located between said heads and operable to engage successively the tapes extending across. the face of one of said heads, form bights in such tapes, and draw such bights axially inwardly over the outer surface of a coil between said heads.

11. In a coil-winding device, a frame, a coilsupport rotatably mounted in said frame, means rotatable with said coil support for carrying a flexible tape, and means, supported from said frame and operative in the rotation of said coilsupport for forming a bight in said tape and drawing such bight axially inwardly and depositing it upon the outer surface of a coil on said support.

12. The invention set forth in claim 11 with the addition of means for severing said tape at the inner end of a deposited bight. V

KENLY C. BUGG. 

